Uproar Over ‘Crack Pipes’ Puts Biden Drug Strategy at Risk

President Biden has made “harm reduction” a central pillar of his plan to fight a record number of drug-related deaths, but a conservative backlash is threatening the effort.

WASHINGTON — President Biden came into office vowing to make “harm reduction” — a public health approach geared toward helping drug users stay safe rather than abstain — a central pillar of his drug policy agenda, at a time when illicit fentanyl has driven a surge in overdose deaths.

Instead, his strategy is in danger of being derailed by a Washington drama over “crack pipes” that is more about political gamesmanship than public health. The clash is a revival of decades-old fights over clean needle exchange programs that addiction experts hoped had finally been laid to rest.

Lawmakers of both parties introduced legislation last week to bar federal funding for “drug paraphernalia” in response to a story in The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website, asserting that federally funded addiction treatment programs would distribute pipes for smoking crack cocaine as part of “safe smoking kits.” In response, White House officials said tax dollars would not be spent on pipes.